In Wisconsin, over 68,000 people couldn’t vote this year because of their conviction status, a practice called felony voter disenfranchisement. State law prohibits incarcerated people and those released on community supervision from voting. About 45,000 of those impacted aren’t locked up but are under community supervision. Advocates for change say the law disproportionately impacts Black […]
Tag: voter suppression
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Unlocking the vote: How other states have eased felony voting laws
The national conversation around felony voting rights has lingered for decades and is considered to be a hot potato for politicians. In Wisconsin, the state banned 68,000 felons from voting. This includes people in prison and on community supervision. In the United States, 5.2 million people can’t vote because of their criminal status. But the […]
Posted inElections, Government, Local news, Politics
Most polling sites in Wisconsin will be open Nov. 3, but a few gaps remain
By Nora Eckert For Wisconsin Watch After a chaotic April primary in which just five voting places were open in Milwaukee, and voters waited for hours in long lines, the city is operating nearly all of its available locations for the upcoming presidential election, mirroring an increase in polling sites statewide. Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director […]
Posted inElections, Government, Local news, Politics
Wisconsin GOP leaders made it harder to vote, especially for Black residents
By Claire Campbell and Laura Schultz Wisconsin Watch Melody McCurtis and Danell Cross start their day early on a recent sunny Sunday morning, going door to door in their neighborhood northwest of downtown Milwaukee. Leaders of the nonprofit Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, the mother and daughter make their way slowly along the route wearing masks […]
Posted inCORONAVIRUS
Hundreds of Thousands of Nursing Home Residents May Not Be Able to Vote in November Because of the Pandemic
This story was originally published by ProPublica. It was written by Ryan McCarthy, ProPublica. It is part of Electionland, ProPublica’s collaborative reporting project covering problems that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots during the 2020 elections. Walter Hutchins cast his first vote for president for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, and he has voted […]
Posted inElections, Government, Local news, Politics
Skepticism urged as disinformation, voter suppression wash over Wisconsin
Late in July, President Donald Trump used his Twitter-powered megaphone to muse about postponing the Nov. 3 election, citing alleged — and widely debunked — concerns about mail-in voter fraud. Despite widespread efforts to fact-check the president — and make clear he lacks the power to delay the election — Trump’s voter fraud myth was […]
Posted inElections, Government, Local news, Politics
A Wisconsin man with visual impairment tried to vote. The coronavirus got in his way.
Don Natzke, 69, has lived nearly his entire life with visual impairment. Natzke previously served as the executive director of the Milwaukee County Office for Persons with Disabilities, where he promoted accessible governmental policies to include people with disabilities. But when it came to Wisconsin’s April 7 election — the only in-person balloting held in […]
Posted inElections, Government, Local news, Politics
Wisconsin erected barriers to college voters, the pandemic added more
On the day of the Wisconsin spring primary in February, Peter German was determined to vote. In between strained breaths, German — a freshman from West Bend attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison — said he had been running from building to building in an attempt to cast his ballot. “I haven’t missed an election yet,” […]
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